MOORHEAD — U.S. Bank has informed clients in a letter that the bank branch at 403 Center Ave., in Moorhead, will close on May 1.
The letter, dated Feb. 1 and signed by Kathryn Astrup, a U.S. Bank district manager, states that client banking preferences and behaviors are changing and that affects how and where the bank operates.
“As a result, we are consolidating some of our physical locations,” Astrup wrote in the letter.
The Moorhead branch is one of about seven U.S. Bank branches in the Fargo-Moorhead area, including the downtown Fargo branch, which is about a mile away from the branch that is closing in Moorhead.
Caitlin Hurley, an assistant vice president of public affairs and communications for U.S. Bank, told The Forum that the downtown Fargo branch will be relocating in March and feature “a new look and feel along with design enhancements to improve the banking experience for clients.”
In early 2023, U.S. Bank announced it had agreed to sell its downtown Fargo branch at 505 2nd Ave. N., to Kilbourne Group.
Bank officials said once the sale was finalized
it would enter into a long-term lease at the Mercantile building
at the corner of Broadway and Fourth Avenue North.
David Olson/The Forum
The first floor of the Mercantile is to become home to a new U.S. Bank branch, as well as other bank operations. Building permit information posted at the Mercantile building indicates work on the future bank space on the first floor is ongoing.
The U.S. Bank branch in Moorhead is located on the basement and first floors of a seven-story commercial building.
Developer
Kevin Bartram announced in early 2023
that he had purchased the floors two through seven with an eye toward transforming part of the structure into a hotel.
That remains the plan, Bartram told The Forum on Tuesday, but he said at this point no project was imminent and a number of tenants who are still in the building are looking for new spaces elsewhere.
Bartram said if U.S. Bank does move out, he would be interested in consolidating his ownership of the building.
When he announced his plans, Bartram said he was looking to establish a boutique hotel on the upper floors of the structure that was originally constructed as a hotel and which at one time was home to the Treetop Restaurant and Lounge, which was located on the top floor.
Bartram said if plans for a hotel do not happen, the upper floors of the building will most likely be turned into multi-family housing.
